Princess
by Ransomed Heart
Summary: What's it like to have a chance at the girl you thought you could never have? Pretty good, except of course that nothing is ever that easy...
1. Prologue

New CL fanfiction! 

This one probably won't be that popular, but it's more for me than anything anyway. I'm hoping to employ some major character development, so stick with me. I'm also jumping years a bit in the beginning, so bear with me. Also, I am perfectly aware the French really don't go by freshman and sophomore and so on, and I learned what their different years were in French, but I'm too lazy to remember or look it up, so nobody harp on me for it, okay?

I don't own Code Lyoko

_This is for Dana, my best friend, confidante, and the person who pushes me to go beyond what I perceive to be my own limitations._

**Princess by Ransomed Heart**

**_Prologue:_**

I aimed carefully, shooting off another laser arrow with practiced skill and ease. I had been doing this so long that the motions came second nature, and I charged ahead of Aelita clearing her a path to the tower.

"Why can't this end," I heard Ulrich's annoyed voice snap from behind me. I glanced back, but as he was currently triplicated it was impossible to tell which of him had spoken. I echoed the sentiment with a slight grunt.

Jeremie had found the cure for Aelita's virus just one week ago, exactly one month into our freshman (and Yumi's sophomore) year in high school. Unfortunately, X.A.N.A. had gone attack-crazy during that time, and every time we moved to shut it down, it sent another attack our way. We were exhausted and sick of sitting through the same classes over and over.

Luckily, Jeremie finally overcame his fear of scanners, so he can join us in Lyoko, which is convenient for now because Yumi broke her ankle two attacks ago. She ran the computer now while Jeremie helped us fight (or rather, glued himself to Aelita and took hits for her. Even in Lyoko he's not athletic.)

"Watch out guys, the trail looks like Swiss cheese up ahead of you," Yumi's voice intoned from above. "If you fall in you'll be deleted." No one would know that better than her, of course.

"Gotcha, Yumi," I said by way of acknowledgement, and I heard Ulrich's response of "Right," from behind me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jeremie nod swiftly and cast a worried glance at Aelita.

He had always babied her, freaking out over even one hit and scolding the rest of us when she got hurt. Now that he was virtualized it was even worse. He never left her side, and had an annoying habit of leading her around by the hand. Ulrich chose to ignore it (or at least not mention it), Yumi attributed it to love, and I made snide comments whenever possible, usually something along the line of "Hey, Einstein, your puppy can lead herself!"

Needless to say, my relationship with wonderboy hasn't been the greatest lately, especially with Aelita materialized and able to spend even more time with him. Think of the worst public display of affection you've ever seen in your life and magnify it by like, two gazillion-thousand, and you've got the mathematical equivalent of Jeremie around Aelita. It's actually nauseating (and I did manage to get Ulrich to admit to that, at least).

Top it all off with a cherry and the fact that I've had a mild crush on Aelita for a while now. So Jeremie's sickening displays of affection kind of hit home. Not to say that Aelita isn't affectionate back, but I prefer to think that she only acts like that because Jeremie does. She certainly has to learn to act that way from someone, and it's certainly not Yumi that's teaching her (I'm going to beat Ulrich one of these days if he doesn't just ask her out...).

Running on all fours, I bounded forward and shot a laser arrow at a Hornet, catching it right in the X.A.N.A symbol for an instant kill.

"Not bad, Odd," Yumi complimented.

"All skill," I bragged slightly, aiming and firing off another arrow towards a second Hornet.

Ulrich snickered from behind, leaping forward to stab the Hornet that I had just missed. "I think you mean 'All luck!'"

I snorted, choosing to ignore the teasing. Glancing towards the tower, I saw that all of the monsters were gone or behind me. In front of me was one of the largest crevasses I had ever seen, filled with the gray mist that indicated the digital void. The only was across was one thin, moss-covered log. There was no going around this one.

"Einstein, Princess, go for it," I shouted. "We'll keep the monsters busy!"

I caught them moving away out of the corner of my eye, but focused back on the battle. I cocked my wrist and gave the monsters a wry smile. "I hope you're ready."

"Careful, Jeremie," Yumi cautioned from above. I tuned her out now and I charged back toward where Ulrich was standing in a battle stance, sword raised. He blocked a shot from a Block, and I crouched low so I was even with the symbol. I wooted as my arrow made contact and the Block exploded.

Ulrich jumped above my head and sliced the approaching Hornet through it's symbol. "Watch your back," he reminded me.

"Not a problem," I said with a wave of my hand. Ulrich snorted and ran off after the other remaining Block. I turned around and saw Jeremie and Aelita on the log.

I stood, watching them transfixed, as Aelita spread her arms wide for balance and walked across like it was nothing.

Jeremie followed suit behind her, wobbling uneasily as he inched slowly across. I sighed but couldn't really blame him. It wasn't his fault he was physically inept. He said something to Aelita, and she nodded and turned away, going to the tower.

Jeremie was cautious, but suddenly I saw him place a foot too far over on the log. It slipped and his feet came out from under him. Aelita had run for the tower already, and in fact had just vanished into it.

He grabbed at the log, fingers clutching for survival. "Odd, help Jeremie!" Yumi's voice snapped me out of my daze, and I surged forward.

"Odd, hurry," Jeremie pleaded. I reached the log and bounded onto it, grabbing his hand in my own and trying to haul him up.

I almost had him when I became aware of a sickening crack from below me. Yumi was screaming at me to hurry, the log was going to break. I pulled frantically, he was over halfway up now.

I felt the log give way, and I made a last-ditch jump for the edge or the precipice, dragging Jeremie with me. "C'mon Genius," I muttered through gritted teeth as my claws dug into the earth, one hand supporting both of our weight.

"Odd, your hand.." Jeremie's voice was pleading, his hand was slipping, but there was nothing I could do. One arm was too little strength to save us. He clutched at me like a lifeline, but his fingers were sliding from my grasp.

In a detached way, I felt his hand leave my own. I was stuck watching with a fascinated horror as Jeremie plummeted down into the digital void. He vanished into the mist, leaving my empty hand dangling.


	2. Chapter One: Visitation

Well, this chapter came out quite a bit differently than I had anticipated. One thing to note is that I began the prologue months ago, so there are some...inconsistancies with season two. I went with whatIalready had written though,considering when I first concieved this it wasmonths before seasontwo was aired.

**Princess by Ransomed Heart**

_**Chapter One:** **Visitation**_

_One Year Later_

I watched as Ulrich bent over and moved the cover off of the manhole and moved down it slowly with his skateboard clutched under one arm. Yumi went right after, followed by Aelita. I peered down and saw Ulrich standing ready. I dropped my own skateboard down so my hands would be free, then descended myself, pulling the cover back over the hole after myself to cover our tracks. After keeping our secret for so long it would be stupid to blow it now.

We set off through the sewers, the only noise between us the rolling of skateboard and scooter wheels. It was a solemn time for all of us, and it seemed like talking would shatter it.

The end of the tunnel was in sight, and the old abandoned factory could be seen looming through the iron bars. We ground to a collective halt, leaning our boards on the wall so we could ascend.

I glanced up on the way up the ladder. Shoot! I averted my gaze, having totally forgotten that Aelita still wore a dress. My heart had skipped a couple of beats there.

Man, I was lame. Today of all days too, it was hardly the time to be having thoughts about Aelita.

I shook it off, gripping the rungs harder and forcing myself to stare forward and not up. Looking up is a bad idea, I reminded myself sternly. A very bad idea.

We climbed out and walked the bridge to the factory. It was weird to walk. After so many days for hectic sprints it was awkward to be able to really look around.

The ropes still hung from the ceiling at the entrance. Ulrich hung on one to test it's strength, then went ahead down as the rest of us followed.

In unspoken agreement we marched to the elevator in silence. Ulrich pressed the button and the doors opened with a hiss. We entered and waited as the gears turned and we descended.

The doors rolled open to reveal the factory's first sublevel, where Jeremie usually sat in front of the computer screens to monitor us.

There was a long tense moment, but Aelita shocked us all by being the first to step out. Compelled to follow, I went next with Yumi and Ulrich behind me. The latter moved to the far wall and leaned on it, closing his eyes. Yumi stepped up to Aelita and placed on hand on the other girl's shoulder and let the other rest on the yellow chair. She had a pained expression on her face. I stood between them all, overcome by the feelings this room brought back.

"We did do the right thing, didn't we?" I turned to look at Ulrich, whose voice had shattered the fragile silence. I had no answer; there was nothing for me to say. Yes, I know how...well...odd that is for me, but there are moments when even a joke seems wrong.

Aelita reached up to the screen, using one pale finger to wipe away a year's worth of dust. A single tears coursed down her cheek, but she nodded with conviction. "Yes. We didn't have any other options."

Yumi made a small noise of dissent, and my gaze flew over to her. "We couldn't have kept fighting," I snapped at her, knowing full well what she was thinking. I hated the tension in the room, hated how uncomfortable it made me feel. Maybe I was looking for an excuse to lash out.

"Yes we could have," she spat back defiantly, moving away from Aelita to glare at me. "We could have found a way!"

My eyes narrowed. We had experienced this debate before, just after Jeremie fell into the digital sea. None of us was computer-savvy enough to bring him back, and even if we had been, none of us knew the materialization code. He had written an manual for the supercalculator, but he purposefully left that code out, since he assumed that no one would ever need it again since we had Aelita. "Multiple attacks a day for a week, Yumi," I scoffed, giving her a wry grin. "None of us had the ability to bring him back, it's his own fault for not leaving us the code!"

Her eyes widened and she moved towards me, arm raised as if to slap me. She didn't though, despite the fact that I probably thoroughly deserved it. "Don't you dare blame Jeremie," she hissed in a low, dangerous voice.

"You're right, it's not fair to blame him," I rambled off. Boy, was I on a roll now. My voice rose in volume. "You weren't doing anything but sitting on your rear at the computer shouting orders like you knew what you were doing. Maybe if you hadn't broken your ankle you could have stopped him from falling." Open mouth, insert foot.

Her gaze became fiery, and on some level I knew I had set myself up for what was coming. "You're the one who dropped him," she shouted back. "Maybe if I was there he would still be alive! You certainly weren't strong enough to save him!"

She hit a nerve, and she knew it, just like Ulrich and Aelita knew. He was watching from his position on the wall, eyes wide, too shocked to stop our feud, and she had her back to us the entire time. Suddenly a dry raspy sob broke through the moment, and Aelita turned and brushed past us as she sprinted for the elevator. The doors hissed shut before any of us could move to follow her.

Ulrich sighed and pushed off the wall, moving to stand between us as though we would lunge at one another at any given moment. "Happy now, you two," he challenged quietly. Neither of us answered, so he continued.

"We came here to honor Jeremie's memory, not to fight amongst ourselves." Yumi took to staring at the floor, obviously ashamed of her outburst. I was used to being scolded, this didn't even faze me. "Now, who's going to find Aelita first and apologize," he probed.

"I will," I said, anxious to get out of the room. I didn't wait for approval, I just went to the elevator.


	3. Chapter Two: Confrontation

I admire everyone's optimism, but I feel the need to say that Jeremie won't be coming back, not in this fic anyway. Don't throw rotten vegetables now, I'm not a Jeremie hater, but he is somewhat of a problem if this is going to be an O/A fic. I didn't want to kill him, but it occurred to me when I first got the idea for this that if I was going to really try to keep everyone in character, then the only feasible way to do an O/A fic was for Jeremie to be gone.

Edit: I can't remember if I ever spell checked this, and I am sick and not very much in the mood to deal with that right now, so you're getting it as is.

**Princess by Ransomed Heart **

**_Chapter Two: Confrontation_**

I kicked irritably at grass and leaves as I stormed through the park. Dumb Yumi, I fumed to myself. What did she know anyway?

She knows that you like Aelita, a small voice in my mind answered wryly. I scoffed to myself, but the small voice was very much correct. Yumi was easily the most emotionally intuitive member of our little posse, and I think she figured out really quick where my affections had turned. And that's probably why she was so angry with me whenever Jeremie came up. Sometimes I get the idea that she thinks I dropped him on purpose.

The sound of quiet sniffling interrupted my train of thought. I glanced around, it sounded like Aelita crying.

"Odd?" The name was accented with a sniff, and I looked up to see the pink-clad girl blinking away tears as she stared down at me uncertainly. She was several branches up the tree, with her back leaning against the trunk.

"Hey," I said, taking a moment to climb expertly up the tree and to locate a branch that ran parallel to her's. Perching myself in a similar position, I turned my head to look at Aelita. "You okay?"

She looked away and didn't answer. Suddenly she broke into another round of sobs, holding her head in her hands. I reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. I wasn't really good at the comforting thing.

"I...I miss Jeremie.." The words were broken. Kind of like my heart. I squished the moment of inner jealousy and gave myself a swift mental kick. Of course she missed Jeremie. He was her first love, how could she not? It was absurd to think that even after a year she could have fully gotten over that feeling.

"Jeremie wouldn't want you to cry over him," I said, though the words came out deadpan. "He loved it when you smiled." Part of me wanted to cheer her up. And part of me was kicking myself again. Tell her that you love to see her smile, my mind coached, but I withheld the words. This was the worst moment imaginable to start spouting things like that, even I had enough tact to realize that.

She wiped at the tears, blinking at me as she tried to clear her eyes. "Really?"

I nodded, trying to work up a smile for her, but hindered by the topic. It was bad enough that one of my closest friends had died this day one years ago, but now here I was, having romantic thoughts about the girl he had been madly in love with. Ugh, I was scum.

"T-thanks, Odd," she said softy, the sobs abating a bit and fading into quiet sniffles and occasional hiccups. It occurred to me with a start that I still had a hand on her shoulder. I removed it quickly, turning my head away so she wouldn't see my sudden blush.

"You ready to head back," I asked after giving her a few more minutes to collect herself. "Yumi probably went home already, and Ulrich probably went back to the dorms."

"Can we stay here a bit," she replied. "I'm not ready to go back yet."

Anything for her. "Sure, let's just sit here a while." She smiled gratefully, then rested her head back against the tree with her dark eyes closed. I stared at her for a long moment, lost in thought before catching myself and leaning back to mimic her position. I really had to learn how to control my own mind, I decided as I shut my own eyes as well.

When I blinked my eyes open again, two questions flitted across my brain. First of all, why was I in a tree? Second of all, what time was it? As my mind caught up, I remembered everything. I glanced to my right, and saw that Aelita hadn't moved, and her breathing had evened out, so she was still sleeping. I paused to admire the way the moonlight made her skin look. Wait, moonlight?

"Crap." I shot up, reaching over to shake Aelita gently. "Aelita, wake up," I hissed.

She blinked slowly, eyes finally focusing on me. "Odd?" Confusion laced her face.

"We fell asleep," I told her in a hushed voice. I had no clue how late it was, but we were most definitely out past student curfew. Since no one was out looking for us, Ulrich must have covered for us.

I jumped down, and held out my arms to her. "Jump," I said. "I'll catch you."

She did so, and there was a breathless moment where I was holding her under her arms and her hands were on my shoulders as she landed, face mere inches from mine. I let go quickly.

"Come on, we have to get back," I said. Clutching her hand gently to guide her, I led the way as we raced through the park towards the dorms.

Minutes later I opened the door to the dormitory building with a relieved sigh. So far we hadn't been caught. "Hurry and get up to your room," I said quietly.

"Right," she agreed. She started to walk away, then paused and turned back. Throwing her arms around me, she wrapped me in a tight hug. "Thanks."

"No problem," I told her, too shocked to return the hug. She pulled back and gave a small wave of goodbye before bounding off to her room upstairs on her tiptoes.

I watched until she rounded a corner, then started to my room, trying not to stomp down too hard and create more noise than necessary.

I crept down the long hall and pulled out the key to our dorm room, surprised when I found it already open. Didn't Ulrich usually lock it? I turned the knob and entered uncertainly.

The room was dark except for the moonlight shining in through the window. I breathed a sigh of relief and began kicking my shoes off.

"Where have you been?"

I swear, I jumped a foot into the air, wheeling around to see Ulrich leaning back on the wall that his bed was adjacent to. The darkness had concealed him, but now that my eyes were adjusting I could make out his form on the bed. His voice was edgy, laced with annoyance; no doubt he was angry at waiting up for me. The tone of his voice and the darkness of the room gave the moment a tense feeling, one that I didn't entirely appreciate after my initial relief at having made it back to the room without getting caught. Suddenly Jim didn't seem so bad compared to Ulrich.

"I went and found Aelita, like you wanted me to," I said, my voice taking a defensive edge. Geez, what was wrong with me lately, it seemed like all I did was start fights.

"That was around four. It's one in the morning. What were you doing all this time?" His tone became less accusatory, probably because he noticed my immediate defensiveness. It switched over to curiosity.

I sighed. "I found her in the park, crying in a tree. I climbed up, we talked for a while, but then we both feel asleep."

Ulrich broke in. "You slept in a tree?" His tone went from curious to amused, and I could almost see him smiling in the gloom as I pulled off my pants to get ready for bed.

That elicited a laugh from me. "Yeah. I guess we'll both be feeling that in the morning. But anyway, I woke up first and realized it had to be past curfew, so we snuck back."

"That's it?"

I pulled my shirt up over my head, tossing it into the hamper in annoyance. "Yup, that's all that happened." My back was to him now as I pulled my nightshirt over my head, but I could feel his eyes burning into my back.

"Okay then," he said as a way to dismiss the subject. I would have pursued it further, but I didn't particularly like what his last question had implied, so it was better to drop it. Besides, if I didn't let him get some sleep soon, Ulrich would be pretty cranky in the morning.

I scooted Kiwi over a bit and climbed under my comforter. "'Night, Ulrich."

"Goodnight, Odd."


End file.
